Some ‘Counting On’ Fans Think Derick Dillard And His Mother Are Disturbingly Tone-Deaf To Jill Duggar’s Trauma

It is pretty much common knowledge in the Duggar family community that Derick Dillard has a penchant for stirring up trouble on Twitter. Since inciting a firestorm of criticism after attacking this then-fellow TLC reality TV star Jazz Jennings, Derick has not really simmered down on social media. Recently, however, Derick might have gone a bit too far, declaring something that was incredibly tone-deaf to his own wife’s traumatic past.

During the days leading up to Alabama’s recent fateful election, Derick took to Twitter to promote Republican frontrunner Roy Moore, a conservative Christian candidate who was in the middle of a heated controversy over his alleged sexual misconduct against minors. According to Derick’s tweet, which has since been deleted, the accusations against Moore should not deter the accomplishments that he would achieve when he takes his place in the U.S. Senate. Here is Derick’s now-deleted tweet, as captured by members of the r/CountingOn community.

“If you live in Alabama and you haven’t voted in the US Senate Race, I’d really encourage you to vote or Roy Moore. I don’t know what’s true about the accusations made against him, but I d know that more positive accomplishments are possible with a Republican in that seat.”

Considering the gravity of the accusations against Moore, especially his possible history of sexual misconduct against underage girls, many Twitter users immediately called out Derick for his tweet. This was when things began to get even more surprising, as Derick’s mother, Cathy Dillard, came to her son’s support, going so far as to express her reservations about the accusations against the controversial candidate.

“Accusations only. Anyone can accuse anyone of anything. There is no evidence. If there were this would have come out a LONG time ago.”

While Derick and Cathy Dillard’s views on the Alabama Senate Race could easily be attributed to their political beliefs, many members of the microblogging community immediately noted that their statements were incredibly insensitive to Jill Duggar, Derick’s wife, and Cathy’s daughter-in-law. As known by the Counting On community, Jill herself was a victim of sexual assault by her older brother, Josh Duggar, and it took a very long time before anyone spoke up about the matter.

Many members of the r/CountingOn community and Twitter brought this up in discussions about Derick’s latest Twitter gaffe. Some even stated that Derick’s now-deleted tweet, together with his mother’s subsequent agreement, were downright tone-deaf and dismissive of Jill’s trauma due to Josh’s past actions.

“So tone deaf to Jill’s abuse. Not only is it dismissive of Jill’s struggles, but the whole ‘if it were true it would’ve already come out,’ as if the Josh story didn’t come out until ten years later! I feel so bad for her, this is how her family protects her and thinks back on what Josh did to her and her sisters?” one commenter wrote.

“Well, it took years and years for the sexual abuse of Jill Duggar Dillard to surface. I cannot believe you and your son would promote a child abuser. Shameful!” another commenter wrote, addressing Cathy Dillard.

So far, it appears like Derick has realized his mistake not long after he posted his latest controversial tweet. He did, after all, delete the upload soon after it was posted. In this sense, at least, it seems like the Duggar-in-law eventually realized that his views might not only be hurting his wife, they might be bringing up some old demons as well.